Footnotes from Felts

Don’t forget to pick up shoes for back to school at Felts during Tax-Free Weekend, August 7-9.

In the 14 years that Mary Ellenburg has worked for Felts Shoes, she’s seen the same phenomenon every August. The little store, tucked into its cozy corner in the Ne-Mar Center, bursts to life with activity. If there were brightly colored lights in the area, one might think it was the holiday season. But it is only August – and area kids are going back to school and making their annual trek to Felts Shoes to get prepared for another lap on their relay to adulthood.

“This time of year is busier than Christmas time for us,” says Mary. “As our store owner, Tabitha Felts, would say: ‘This is our Christmas!’” In addition, Tax-Free Weekend is coming up, August 7-9, which translates to a savings of 9.33 percent, making this the perfect time to invest in your family’s feet!

Because children are growing so fast, it might be tempting to skimp on shoes, justifying the action with the thought, “They’re just going to grow out of them in two months!” But this rapid growth is all the more reason to invest in a child’s foot, as the rest of the body is growing also, and all of this added pressure is placed directly on the feet. As many children and teens are busy with sports and other activities, they need customized foot support to absorb the stress that daily activities put on their developing bones and joints. Studies have shown that children’s feet endure three times the stress of an adult foot, due to growth and high activity levels—and a good shoe will help a child’s foot develop proper muscle strength on its own.

Improperly fitting shoes can cause a myriad of problems at any age. For instance, if a person has very little or no arch in his or her foot, commonly known as being “flat-footed,” they will need extra support to keep all their body’s pressure from rolling to the inside of his or her foot. This condition can cause knee and back problems, and in fact, a person enduring these issues may not even realize that the source of the problems can be traced back to the feet.

At Felts Shoes, you will find a huge variety of styles to choose from, and this year, Felts will be adding the popular line of athletic shoes from Under Armor to their shelves. The store carries a wide variety of quality brands for the whole family, with a myriad of the latest styles to choose from, but the advantage of visiting Felts Shoes goes beyond just style and fashion. As the owner of a family shoe store, Tabitha feels it is important to concentrate on the health of clients’ feet rather than just the style of the shoe. The staff at Felts is trained to understand the human foot and how best to take care of it. When you visit Felts, your feet will be evaluated to find just the right fit for your specific problems or needs. Whether you are a parent buying shoes for growing children or a teacher who will stand on her feet all day, personal service is the top priority at Felts Shoes for this back-to-school season.

“You have to take care of your feet,” says Tabitha. “They are the only ones you are going to get!”